Suchergebnisse

The Deutscher Verpackungspreis (German Packaging Prize) 2013 has been awarded. Here, I want to show you some of the winners. ABSOLUT UNIQUE Everybody knows the vodka brand ABSOLUT VODKA. In a very complex procedure, four million unique vodka bottles have been produced, whereas no bottle looks like another one. Different colour layers and patterns have made every bottle unique. The thought of giving every Absolut Vodka consumer an individually designed bottle (with collector’s value?) is outstanding. Submitter: Ardagh MP West France SAS Designer: Family Business Producer: Ardagh Group User: The Absolut Company COMBIDOME For this product, the advantages of cardboard packaging (low weight, easy to recycle, durable) are perfectly combined with the advantages of packaging for a bottle. Everyone who has used the ordinary standard carton, is well aware of the difficulties to try and get the last drops of a favourite drink. This unique, bottle-neck shaped design is the perfect solution. Submitter: SIG International Services GmbH Designer: SIG Combibloc Producer: SIG Combibloc User: riha Wesergold Getränke GmbH & Co. KG ALVERDE NATURKOSMETIK Okay, these packaging designs are not very outstanding. But, organic ingredients and the organic/health aspect play a major (sales) role for alverde Naturkosmetik (natural cosmetics). The cardboard box consists of 80% recycled material, it was printed with mineral oil free, organic offset print colours (only renewable raw materials were used for producing these colours). The CO2 footprint is 76% smaller than with ordinary cardboard boxes. The organic theme was spread over the entire packaging process, which resulted in being awarded. Submitter: Carl Edelmann GmbH Designer: khdesign GmbH Offenbach Producer: Carl Edelmann GmbH User: dm-drogerie markt GmbH & Co. KG CHOCOLÉ These chocolate sticks are fantastically presented thanks to a round can packaging design made of cardboard, it looks very inviting. The high convenience factor brought this innovative, yet simple looking design an award. Submitter: Griesson De Beukelaer GmbH & Co. KG Designer: Griesson De Beukelaer, Van Genechten Packaging Producer: Van Genechten Nicolaus, Köln User: Griesson De Beukelaer RED BULL ILLUME 2013 IMAGE QUEST This packaging design was used for promoting a photo contest for sports and action photography. When opening the box (kept together with a magnet), the word „enlightened“ lights up. At the same time you hear the sound of a flash. This experience takes you directly into the world of photography. Submitter: Karl Knauer KG Designer: zooom production GmbH (Gestalter), Karl Knauer KG (Entwickler) Producer: Karl Knauer KG, Rox Asia Consultancy Ltd. User: Red Bull #packaging

Until a few years ago, 3D effects used to be really hip in graphic design. When Microsoft Windows 8 was launched however, a new design trend emerged: flat design. Flat design does not use any 3D effects like shadows, reliefs etc. Everything looks more flat, simpler and a bit „plain“. I personally like flat design a lot. However, this trend has not matched everybody’s taste. Sometimes I had the feeling that people either love flat design or they absolutely hate it. It polarises. Maybe this is one reason why you come across more and more flat designs with shadow effects now. You can see that a long, sharp shadow was added to the 2D design in order to make it look 3D, but in the end it still remains 2D. Maybe this is a new trend, a flat design 2.0? I’m curious how strong flat designs with shadows will become in the future. #flatdesign #icon

What comes to your mind when thinking of Holland? Cheese, tulips, windmills, a mind-altering substance being sold in shops where you might find or might not find coffee and ... of course – wooden shoes! I have never had the honour of trying on authentic Dutch clogs. As they probably feel as uncomfortable as they sound, I chose to buy soft „wooden“ shoes at Amsterdam airport a while ago. (What else can you do while waiting for a connection flight ...) So I thought I research a bit on Dutch wooden shoes and here I want to show you some outstanding models. The "Münsterländer Holzklumpen" proove that also Germans have a sense for nice wooden shoes indeed. Some models are really elegant. Seen on bluedelft.com . This model I discovered at putinstyle.com . Don't ask me what this has to do with the Russian president ;-) Seen at eggeller.com . Seen at fiskarscraft.typepad.com/my_weblog . When thinking of wooden shoes, the designer Patricia van Lubeck sets the standards for extraordinary models. My soft clogs from the airport in Amsterdam - convenience meets "taste". #holland #amsterdam #clogs #fashion

The term „rights of use“ whirls above many creative people’s heads, like a fair weather cloud above a sunny spot: Somehow intangible, somehow unpleasant, somehow annoying and totally pointless. Pointless? Really? Well... As the name already states, rights of use allow you to use a third person’s work or product for a specific purpose. Let me give you an example: I develop a corporate design concept for a client. The creation from the briefing towards the final concept including logo etc. costs X euros. Now, that leaves one question: Should the price be the same for the bakery next door, as it is for an international corporation acting on a global scale? The bakery next door has a much smaller clientele reach than the international corporation, so there are slimmer chances chances to squeeze profit out of the corporate design, packaging design or other design that I created for them. On the other hand, the international corporation can really milk the design I did for them and increase their profits on a global scale. To make it short: Not every company can get the exact same profit out of a design. However, rights of use let you handle this topic in a fair and transparent way. Rights of use can be determined with or without a time limit and with or without a regional limitation. I always charge for rights of use without time limit, but with accordance to geographical aspects. The creation of a design costs X euros. The price for the rights of use is added on top and is calculated either for a state (i.e. 5% of the creation price), a country (i.e. 20% of the creation price) or a continent or worldwide – the most expensive rights of use of all. However, many graphic designers do not even „dare“ to mention the term „rights of use“, let alone charge for them. Speaking from my personal experience, I have to say that I never had a problem with my clients, when charging separately for rights of use (of course I have to communicate that right from the start). After all, they are part of the final price and every client has an understanding for fair, transparent pricing. When a client says „I’ve never paid for rights of use, what is that, nobody charges for that?“, you simply have to bring forward the argument that other graphic designers probably charged too much by simply adding worldwide rights of use, or that they were not paid fairly when charging too little and not seeing any benefit for the success of their design. Seeing it from the other side, companies should be pro-active here too and ask the graphic designer about how rights of use are dealt with right from the start. This prevents misunderstandings that could come up at a later stage and sets the basis for a trustworthy, transparent co-operation. Because the best design has no value for you unless you can use it! #copyright #rightofuse #license

Munich Airport has a new corporate design, with a new logo, a new claim, new colours, new secondary style elements and a new typography. LOGO The old "M" remained and the coloured slant shall symbolize the new claim "Living ideas - Connecting lives". TYPOGRAPHY The font Munich Airport Pro specifically developed for Munich Airport is clear, straight and all in all a beautiful sans serif font. But: Isn't the € sign missing? It's nice to think of the $ sign. However, the font for a German airport should definitely feature the € sign. COLOURS Using four different colours makes the logo more flexible, so the trend towards flexible logos has been taken into account. However, it seems like the designer has desperately tried to include different colours just for the sake of it, but forgot about the meaning behind the colours. On the website of Munich Airport you can select your favourite colour for displaying certain parts of the website - depending on your personal taste. But every colour should transport a certain message or a certain business unit - this has been neglected completely. Website: At the top centre, you can select your favourite colour. PICTURES A very positive thing is the usage of emotional pictures. The photo pairs tell a story and the secondary style element (the slant of the M majuscule) smartly divides the photo pairs. Besides that, the slant direction from the bottom left to the top right transports a feel for dynamics that every airport should transport. Well done! CONCLUSION The new corporate design of Munich Airport is good and modern. Using different colours without meaning, however, seems forced. In general, it leaves the question of a USP - a unique selling proposition. The new corporate design could also stand for plenty of other companies. Munich Airport wants to sell itself as a unique airport and its new corporate design does not do that. But: How "unique" can an airport really be? The target group has an "open end". This is why it makes sense to reduce it to a common denominator, but a bit more uniqueness would have been nice indeed. #corporatedesign #logo #munich #airport

Illustrations are great. You’ll find out how great, once you enquire about an offer for the same where the price knocks you off your feet. Don’t get me wrong, illustrations that tell a story and do not just look like children paintings are wonderful and I’m a big fan of this. But, plasticine sculptures should become the next „big thing“ I think! More oomph, more fun and all that in a real, three-dimensional sculpture. I can only say: Thumbs up for plasticine! (Source: Neon magazine, sculpture by Sebastian Haslauer) Nicorette children campaign (DRAFTFCB KOBZA; Bronze Epica Award 2007) Land Rover Freelancer (TV spot) (Source: creativityhasnobounds.blogspot.com) Answer Car Insurance #plasticine #advertisement #print

Companies spend thousands of Euros for print advertisements - some magazines even charge six-figure sums and maybe even more. Considering this, it is sad to see expensive advertisements placed wrong. The Indian Holi festival, infamous for its colourfulness, might have been the inspiration for the advert above. The viewer’s awareness is smartly brought directly onto the product (a car in this case) by using a frame. But: The whole frame should definitely be on the page and not bled-off. The focus on the product decreases. I cannot imagine that this was planned by the brand. The Tyrolean tourism region Hochgurgl booked a double-page advertisement in more or less the middle of a magazine. The claim was "Der Höhepunkt Tirols" ("The highlight of Tyrol" or "The peak of Tyrol" as the German word "Höhepunkt" can mean both). However, this claim was placed in the centre of the advert and, consequently, the claim "Der Höhepunkt Tirols" turned into "Der Höhept Tirols" which doesn’t make sense. It is not understandable why some companies hire professional photographers and pay for high-class advertisements, when they don’t hire a professional graphic designer in the end. It’s sad how money gets wasted! #advertisement #magazine #print

Products emerging from the local economy are in demand. You know what you buy, you can expect a certain quality level and the money spent stays within the country. Very nice. In the United Kingdom, there is an official quality seal, initiated a few years ago, that marks locally produced products: "Made in Britain". The new logo of "Made in Britain" was presented a few weeks ago. Many British manufacturers can now be proud to print it on their products – after paying a certain amount of money of course (where there's money to earn, there's money to earn). A part of the Union Jack is used, the diagonal is slightly replaced to perfectly fit into the logo and now you got an arrow that can point at a product for example. In order to make this symbol adaptable to many different corporate designs, it was produced in different colour variations. Old "Made in Britain" logo New "Made in Britain" logo in different colour variations I find the "Made in Britain" logo truly excellent and state of the art. Matching the subject, I looked for other "Made in " logos and found out that also the USA have their own brand for products made in the USA. The "Made in USA" logo Also the Swiss have their own quality seal – the crossbow shall symbolise it. The "Swiss Made" logo For products made in Austria, you can look out for the "Made in Austria" logo. And what about the probably most famous quality seal – "Made in Germany"? It seems, there is no official "Made in Germany" logo as there is no institution checking "Made in Germany". It already happened, that a German court had to decide whether or not a manufacturer could put a "Made in Germany" lettering on his/her goods, depending on how much of the product was actually made (or built together) in Germany. However, products "Made in Germany" are in demand worldwide. Here the Germans should thank the British. The British? Yes, indeed. It was the British who saw their manufacturing businesses in danger back in the 19th century when German imports rose. Back then, most German products really were of worse quality than British – they were also cheaper. The British decided to stigmatise German imports by putting the "Made in Germany" lettering on them what meant something like "Attention, this product is cheap and from Germany, it is of bad quality". But the Germans worked hard to become superior and at the start of the 20th century, they worked with so much precision and discipline that they soon became top-notch innovator and manufacturers. Soon, quality "Made in Germany" overtook Great Britain and many other nations and is a worldwide synonym for quality products and engineering in perfection. #logo #greatbritain #corporatedesign

When Jess Bachman, Creative Director of Visual.ly contacted me to say how impressed he is by my work, I of course felt very honoured. Visual.ly offers infographic services to some of the world’s biggest brands on an extraordinarily high quality level. So the question of working together with him and Visual.ly, I could only answer with "Yes!". I’m looking forward to many great infographic projects. Speaking of infographics, I want to give you some interesting tips: - A study proved that data shown in round shapes is remembered most. - Bar charts are probably the oldest data visualisation method ever. However, you should use bar charts only when you have to. An infoGRAPHIC should look like a graphic and not like a boring chart, no? - According to a study, data in an infographic having more than six colours is much easier to remember. However, this raises a bit of concern as regards the design and overall look as a higgledy-piggledy infographic can easily look unprofessional and cheap. - Speaking of colours, you should always thoroughly think about how to use colours in an infographic. The colour is the very first thing somebody sees of an infographic. So implement some sort of colour system. It can also make sense to create the infographic in black and white in the beginning and implement the colour scheme in the end. - Lately, I have stumbled upon a few infographics using photographs. Placing an illustration into a photo can be a nice thing when executed smartly. But placing a photo into an infographic? Sorry, that is just scary. The human eye always looks out for things we know that come closest to reality so you automatically focus on the photo. The infographic around the photo becomes less important. Mixing infographics with photos is very delicate! Do you want a great and unique infographic for your business? Simply send me an email ! #infographic

Every graphic designer or every person working in the creative industry knows them: creative blocks. You try to get your head around the job as much as possible but it just leads nowhere. I have such moments too and they are very frustrating of course. But there are a few things that help me break creative blockades in order to get back into a creative workflow. TIP # 1 - BRIEFING MEMORY I write important points of the briefing on little cards and mix them. Then I lay out the cards on a big table – like a memory game. Translating the briefing gets some oomph through this and I sometimes get new ideas. TIP # 2 - TAKE A SHOWER It might sound funny, but my best ideas are thought up under the shower. Maybe the soulapping of the water makes my creativity flow, I don’t know. But I can be quite sure that when I take a shower, I step out with a fresh body and fresh ideas in my head. Important: Write ideas down as soon as you’ve finished the shower! TIP # 3 - EXERCISE Sports always helps to get a tired creative mind going again – jogging outside is especially good. Fresh air combined with a good workout is the best method to „reboot“ your mind. TIP # 4 - COOKING I love cooking. When I have a creative blockade, chopping fresh vegetables and trying out new exotic spices helps me a lot to get a free head for a good, intense work session. TIP # 5 - ELIMINATE MESS It depends on the person, but usually if everything is in order then distractions are at a minimum. "A tidy desk is a tidy mind" - this is not just for your physical desk, but your digital desk too. I once spent a few hours organising 2500 images that were just numbered (which did not help anyone). So now if I need a certain image, I can view my options easily without losing precious time and creative power. TIP # 6 - IDEAS AT NIGHT It is proved that the human brain is extremely active at night. And indeed, many of my creative ideas I dream at night. The good thing is that I mostly wake up when I have an idea. I immediately write it down then so no idea gets lost. TIP # 7 - RE-ORGANISE THE DESK/OFFICE Re-organising my desk or office furniture helps me get a new perspective on things and projects for clients which can boost creativity. (Upon successful completion of the job, the desk or furniture is put back of course.) TIP # 8 -HOLIDAY When time and budget allow, travelling abroad is always a benefit for my senses. I love travelling to countries where everything is completely different than in Austria – another culture, another language, other smells, other food etc. This is how I broaden my horizon, which tremendously helps me in my creative job. TIP # 9 - LOUNGE, JAZZ OR CLASSICAL MUSIC Studies proved that listening to classical music makes you work more effectively. And I can only confirm that. Some of my best works I created while listening to classical, jazz or lounge music ( http://deluxemusic.tv/ is fantastic for the latter). TIP # 10 - A RELAXING EVENING Here and there, it is important to completely switch off your mind and relax. If it is a foam bath at home, an evening in the sauna or a day at a thermal bath: Taking a break from everyday life fills up my creative tanks with fresh energy. Important: Don’t forget to switch off your phone! These are my 10 best tips for breaking creative blockades. All tested and approved! I hope I can help some creatives out there to prevent themselves from future creative blocks. #inspiration #creativeblock

I can’t say it often enough how important a good and thorough briefing is. According to Wikipedia, a briefing is a short and concise summary of a situation. However, the briefing for a design project should not be concise, but thorough and long enough so the designer receives many details about the company, the product, the target group, the advertisements planned and the competitors etc. Furthermore, the designer has to be informed about the amount of design pieces to be produced, in the short AND long run. Knowing all of this enables the designer to plan and calculate accordingly. Let me give you an example: The client orders a poster layout from the designer because he/she wants to promote their new product. Two months later, they order a website design. A few weeks later, they want a logo to be drafted. Another month later, they need a brochure. All these projects were given to different designers separately and exactly in that order. In the end, nothing fits into a scheme, third parties (also the client’s target group!) maybe do not even recognise it is about one and the same company and everything looks simply wrong and unprofessional. Nevertheless, the client spent a lot of money altogether; a lot of money for a bad visual appearance. It may sound unlogical, but there are companies ordering designs exactly like the above example. Mostly, this occurs because of a lacking understanding for design. The boss of a company doesn’t necessarily have to have this understanding for design processes, this is the designers job to make his client aware of the importance of a briefing and to challenge the client in the course of the briefing. The designer must definitely know what it’s all about, this is crucial. In the example, an experienced designer would have developed a corporate design concept in the beginning, and then they would have applied this concept towards further projects (website, brochure, poster etc.). The result: A continuous design concept that goes through everything like a common thread, the image is correctly transported to the target group and the client has a professional visual appearance in the public, which costs them less than all the „unprofessional“ designs together. And afterwards, the company can realistically think about maximizing profit. (More info about how a good corporate design can maximize your success and profit can be seen here !) But sometimes, companies also think „Does the designer really have to know this and that?“. As it’s about translating a vision into a design: Yes! Simply drawing a nice picture in the CEO’s favourite colours of the season, is not the general idea. The more the designer knows, the better they can work. A further problem that can arise; the client does not know what they want. And it gets worse; the client does not know, who they are and how their business model looks like. If the client keeps saying „I don’t know“ in the briefing, every experienced designer should be warned. These clients very often tend to lay things open (that are crucial for the corporate design), in the middle of the design process or even after the corporate design has been finalised and approved. This can lead to a re-development of the complete corporate design and causes high additional costs and longer waiting times for the company. The lesson is clear: Only after a company knows where to go in the future, a designer can create a design that correctly translates this journey into a visual identity. #briefing

Twitter has changed the design for user profiles. That means that also the last big social media platform, that used to allow at least a bit of individual design possibilities for profiles, has adjusted towards the "normal", standardised social media designs. In the past, you had the chance to adapt your background to your corporate design for example. This possibility was killed by the design relaunch. Similar to Facebook & Co, also Twitter uses a big banner picture for the top of each profile. This banner measures 1500 pixels x 500 pixels. Here you can see my new Twitter design as an example: There is also a novelty with regards to tweets: The shorter the text in the tweet, the bigger the font. That means the shorter the tweet, the more it stands out. This looks like a bug and despite thinking about it, I still have not come across a reason why Twitter is doing that now. Very strange. Here you see two examples: What does Twitter want to achieve with that? Is a short tweet automatically more important than a long tweet? Twitter seems to think so, but I don’t. As Twitter normally does great things, I cannot imagine this to be a bug, but it does look like one. Another novelty is pinning tweets: Like on Facebook, you can now pin tweets so they appear on top of your Twitter feed. This is very good, especially for corporate Twitter accounts. Also the way that photos/videos are displayed, is new on Twitter. When clicking on photos/videos in a profile, you see a structure similar to memory cards, that shows all photos and videos of a Twitter user. This is something that Twitter copied from Google+ after they had copied it from Pinterest. Is the Twitter design relaunch linked to its stock market launch and to its "profit pressure"? I don’t know. What we can all see though, is that the big social media platforms are becoming more and more similar (design-wise). If you like it or not. When thinking of other social networks, design relaunches often had to face negative criticism (at least in the beginning while users were still getting used to the new design). However, the new Twitter design has received quite positive feedback so far. And I also have to say that I really like the new Twitter design (apart from the font size "bug") – even though a lot has been copied from Facebook and Google+. So Twitter was everything but revolutionary, but they really worked hard on improving the user experience and this is what counts when it comes to social networks. #twitter #socialmedia